Finding Redemption

So this past weekend, Shawna and I spent some time in Jacksonville, Florida. We were there so that I could perform the wedding for a young man who was in high school when we first moved to Rochester. He asked me several months ago to perform the wedding, and I was excitedly (and weepingly) said yes. Since being fired two years ago, this is the second wedding I performed. But the first one I had already been asked to do before the firing, and it was not the legal ceremony. The couple had eloped, I just spoke at their religious ceremony. It was very healing for me at that time. I aksed them shortly after I stopped preaching if they still wanted to preside, and it meant so much to me that they said yes. In fact, their wedding was the first opportunity for Shawna and I to go to Lawson Road after we left. For many reasons, it was a great occasion and I have been grateful ever since.

This past weekend, it meant so much to me that a young man would think enough of me to ask me to perform his wedding, and that his bride (whom I had not met) agreed with him. So I called up the State of Florida to ask if I could still legally do weddings, they said, "Yes," and off we went. In addition to a fabulous vacation, I realized something incredible.

I arrived at the title of this blog because I was "Searching" for what God wanted me to do. I have fully arrived yet, but this weekend helped me realize that I am not just searching. I am finding. It is a process. It will not be all at once. No one event, whether it be a sermon, leading a small group, or performing a wedding, will be a magical cure-all for my ministry. God is leading me. Thank you, God! Thank you, also, Brian and Stephanie and Mike and Nicole. The four of you are helping me grow.

More sports irritations

1. Baseball players are just stupid. Now mind you, I am grateful for this latest stupidity. Since Roger Clemens had to be a man and throw a little ball at somebody because someone else threw a little ball at one of his teammates, Clemens missed a start, and that led to the current Yankees losing streak. If they go 4-10 over the next 14 (already 0-1) games, they will be lucky. If you get hit with a pitch walk to first base. It is not a big deal. And don't give me that even more stupid DH argument. There are just as many hit batters and brawls in the NL as there are in the AL. The problem is not the DH. The problem is that most baseball players are sissies who are jealous of athletes who are actually athletic.

2. Tell me again that Selig is not after Barry Bonds. Sheffield admits steroid use. Nothing. Sosa has more circumstantial evidence against him that Bonds does. Nothing. Pitchers continue to test positive. Giambi sits down and is open and honest about steroid use. Nothing. If Bonds did the same thing, would Selig react the same way? Once again, the commissioner shows that not only does he utilize a minimal amount of rational thought, he has shown that he cares nothing about cleaning up the game; he cares about defaming Bonds' name.

3. Sports fans who rail against NFL preseason, think about what you are saying. Most teams have either played 1 or 2 preseason games. So all of the injuries that have already occured would still have occured if the preseason was only two games long. Also, if you reduce preseason games from 4 to 2, you double the amount of time the real players actually play the game, so all the injuries will still happen. Furthermore, if there are only two preseason games and the regular season is extended to 18, teams will begin training camp even earlier, practicing in greater heat and humidity for longer periods of time. So all in all, reducing the number of preseason games will actually increase the number of injuries.

There really needs to a committee to decide all things sports. So far, I have Bob Costas and myself. Who else will be on it is still to be determined. Maybe Michael Vick. He is about to have a lot of free, check that, spare time.

Eventually, I am going to get back to serious stuff. I just don't know when.

Baseball fans are irritating

Let me get this right: the 500 home run club no longer means what it once did because there are too many people in it. Right. Twenty-two. In over 100 years.

There is just as much proof against Bonds as there is against, oh, let's say Griffey. Of the major home run hitters, only Palmeiro has tested positive. Not Bonds. Not McGwire (though his pleading the 5th DOES lead to questions). Not Sosa. And I honestly don't remember--did Giambi test positive or did he just have a mysterious ailment for a year? Don't forget, Sheffield did admit he used steroids; Bonds did not. Bonds said he used two substances; others said those substances may have been steroidal. Oh wait, I forgot: Bonds gained weight. That guilty parentless child. Also, how many pitchers have tested positive? The home run explosion is due to smaller parks and a shorter mound. Perhaps to steroids--but not just the hitters; the pitchers, as well. But again, I forget, no one hates any pitcher as much as people hate Bonds. So let's sum up--people don't like Bonds because he is the spoiled son of a big leaguer and he gained weight. Man, that is certainly enough to convict him and give him the death penalty.

As long as players like Goose and Rice (I know I have said this before) are not in the Hall of Fame, and players like Rose and Shoeless Joe are not allowed in because the Hall people are sanctimonious blow-hards, and people like Selig can be commisioner for this long, baseball is a trivial little game; no more.

This is from my MySpace blog:

By the way, today sums up what A-Rod is all about--personal achievement. As a lifelong, die-hard Red Sox fan, I really hope he resigns if the Yankees. But if he does leave them, I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hope he signs with someone other than the BoSox. Knowing the type of player he is, he will most likely sign with a team that has some money, but little to no chance of ever succeeding (Toronto, San Francisco, Arizona, etc.). That way, he can chase Bonds' (soon-to-be) record without the bother of playoffs or anything icky like that.